


Our Little World

by erimcfairy



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Robin Hood!Lance, kinda robin hood au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-02 21:46:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16795369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erimcfairy/pseuds/erimcfairy
Summary: The life and times of the greatest outlaw who ever lived. (Robin Hood AU, Klance.)





	Our Little World

**Author's Note:**

> This is a working title, and an introductory chapter. Thanks to Yuki and Zuki for being my betas.

The wood was peaceful in that moment; nothing to break the still morning air but the cries of birds and the leaves rustling in the cool breeze. The clear sky was hidden from view beneath the thick canopy, only select patches of sunlight able to filter through the foliage and light up the trail bellow. A young boy, no older than twelve years old, sat crouched amongst the brush, dressed in animal furs and wielding a sling in his small, calloused hands. It was a well worn weapon, made from scrap leather and hand woven twine, a small pouch filled with rounded pebbles hung from his belt to be used as projectiles. Across the path from him was a rather large tree, a target crudely carved into the center of its sturdy trunk, the bark chipping and dented from his previous shots. He took a deep breath and held it, raising the loaded sling above his head and starting to spin it, eyes trained on the target in front of him.

He released his breath along with one end of the weapon, the rock flying forward and bouncing off the center of the trunk, leaving a satisfying crack in the bark. The boy’s lips pulled at the corners, widening into a toothy smile as he let out a loud cheer to break the silence of the morning.

“Nice shot.”

A voice near his ear startled him out of his revelry and sent him falling back into the dirt. Startled blue eyes were met with amused violet ones, said eyes belonged to a boy about his age that hovered over him with a small grin on his pale face, “feeling a little off balance, Mr. Sharpshooter?”

The boy’s dark cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, mortified at having a complete stranger poking fun at something he had caused in the first place. He shot the newcomer a wavering glare, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout, “It’s your fault I fell! Don’t you know not to sneak up on people?”

The violet eyed boy seemed to ponder that for a moment before shrugging, “Most people hear me coming. Maybe you’re just not observant?”

“Excuse me?!” He couldn’t believe the gall of this kid! What kind of person insults someone they just met? “I’m super observant! I was just… distracted….” Sure, it wasn’t a smooth recovery, but he wasn’t about to take an insult lying down without attempting to redeem himself.

The other boy crouched down to be at his level, cupping his own face in his hands, “Hm… I guess that could be true, but you’ll have to work on that if you want to fight anything,” he began to rock back and forth on his heels, before pausing, as though he’d been struck by an important thought, “Oh. I forgot my manners. May I ask your name, Mr. Sharpshooter?”

“I’m not... I shouldn’t… you could be fae trying to kidnap me!”

The other boy let out a chiming laugh that bounced off of the trees, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of his lips, “A fae, huh?” his smile grew into an amused smirk at the notion, “I promise, I’m not any kind of fae, and I don’t want to kidnap you. If I were, I’d have cut to the chase by now, don’t you think? I could have easily done so when you were distracted,” the boy waggled his fingers in an imitation of a magical creature casting a spell with a soft laugh, “Though, I suppose I could come up with another name for you, if you won’t tell me your real one.”

“Lance! It’s Lance,” Lance was hesitant to share much more with this strange boy. It wasn’t often he saw other people out in the woods, and when others had passed through, they hadn’t been dressed in such fancy, pristine clothing. In fact, everything about this boy seemed far too proper to be out in the forest at all; from his neat, silky curls, to the plush cloak he was wrapped up in, this boy was the picture of elegance, a far cry from anyone else Lance had seen so casually mucking up their clothes in the forest.

“Lance. Hm,” the boy smiled softly, “do you live around here, Lance?”

“... Isn’t it only fair you tell me your name first? Who tells a stranger where they live?”

The boy pursed his lips thoughtfully, “Well then, Lance, my name is Keith. I live in the village to the south east with my mother and father. I guess that means we aren’t strangers anymore.”

Lance ignored Keith’s claim in favor of something that interested him far more, “Woah! You live near the palace?!”

“Yes… I guess you could say that.”

“That’s so cool!” Lance’s eyes shined with admiration. He wasn’t often allowed to venture into town, and it was even rarer for him to be able to near the palace walls. Most of the people in the area lived on farms some distance away, and the town was mostly full of successful shops and rich merchants; his dear friend Hunk lived on a farm not far from there with his family, but the nervous boy was always far too wary of nearing the castle guards to stray too far from the town center. On the few rare instances when he was able to sneak away for a moment, the guards always gave him such dirty looks, as if, just by him seeing the beauty of the castle, he’d somehow tarnish it, “My family and I live here in the forest. My dad’s a hunter,” he gestured to his coat of pelts with a wide grin, seemingly forgetting that, mere moments ago, Keith was a complete stranger to him, “he’s completely unrivaled with a bow! That is, until I get my hands on one.”

“You plan on becoming an archer as well?”

“Not just any archer, I’m gonna be the best archer in the whole kingdom! My mom said that when I turn thirteen I can finally have my very own bow,” he sighed dreamily, his hands clenching like he could already feel the smooth wood of the bow in his hands, the taut string biting into the flesh of his fingers. He could hardly wait to get his hands on the weapon he’d been admiring since he was old enough to witness his father shooting one.

Keith tilted his head thoughtfully, “It’s good to have a goal. If you have the freedom to do what you want with your life, you should.”

“You say that like you don’t.”

The noirette sighed, pressing his cheek against his knee, “My entire life is completely planned out for me. I don’t get a say in it at all. Even my friends are handpicked by some stuffy grownups I’ve never even met.”

“Um, are you okay? You’re not being kept prisoner or something, are you?”

Keith snorted, “If I was a prisoner would I be out here talking to you?”

“Hm…” Lance’s heart ached for his new friend’s lack of freedom. He’d always been allowed to traverse through the woods all day, choose his own friends, and his own path in life; he couldn’t imagine not being able to do any of the things he did now, like climbing trees or shooting his sling. His life would be awfully dull if he could only do what others told him to. He’d assumed then that Keith must have been a renowned merchant’s son, it certainly would explain his fancy clothes and his lack of choice in his own life. “Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but… you shouldn’t let others control your life, Keith. Without the freedom to live your own life, you’re basically a prisoner anyway, right? Even if everyone’s telling you it’s the wrong thing to do, at least it’ll be your choice, you know?”

Keith’s eyes grew wide at Lance’s brash words, “No one’s… ever told me that before….”

“Well, it was about time someone did. So, how about it? What do you wanna do with your life?”

The noirette looked around for a moment, as if someone would be listening in if he spoke what was on his mind. Even though the coast was entirely clear, he still hesitated, fiddling with the hem of his cloak, “I-I want,” he trailed off, his voice faltering to the point where his next words were barely above a whisper, “I want to travel the world.”

Lance grinned, “See? That wasn’t so hard now was it?” Keith seemed to disagree, but Lance noticed that his eyes had softened, as though a weight had been lifted off of his heart that he hadn’t even known was there, “if you wanna travel then you will, okay? And if anyone tries to stop you they can go through me.”

Keith opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the sound of hoofbeats hitting the dirt path not far off from them. “Keith?” a rich voice called out, worry clipping at the edges of the man’s tone, breaking the silence of the forest and filling it, along with the gentle whinny of a horse.

Keith cursed silently, quickly scrambling to his feet and brushing the dirt off of his pants. As he made himself presentable once more, a beautiful black horse trotted into the two young men’s view, coming to a halt with a pull of its reins. Atop it’s back sat a very handsome teenaged boy, dressed in armor that seemed to catch the light just so and halo the man, a long sword was strapped at his hip, so near that Lance could see his own reflection in the polished metal. Lance gazed up at him in awe, eyes shining with admiration.This man was a real life knight! The kind that guarded the royal family and married beautiful princesses! The kind his mother told him beautifully woven stories about. He’d never dreamed he’d see a fairy tale knight right before his very eyes, so close he could reach out and touch him if he so desired. It was everything he’d ever dreamed it would be.

The knight scanned Lance for a moment, but his attention was quickly diverted to the boy standing beside him, arms crossed tightly over his chest. When the knight’s eyes fell on Keith he seemed to visibly relax, the tension releasing from his broad shoulders, “Keith. Thank goodness, I was worried you’d been captured,” he carefully dismounted his horse, his sword rattling against his hip as he did so. He fell to one knee and swept Keith into a crushing hug. It must have been uncomfortable with all the rigid armor, accented by Keith’s intense squirming, “you know you aren’t supposed to run off. You’re going to make my hair go gray if you keep scaring me like this.”

Keith puffed out his cheeks, lower lip jutting out in a pout, as he struggled uselessly in the hold, “I’m fine, Shiro. I just wanted to go for a walk. I can take care of myself! I wasn’t even gone that long!”

“Keith, it’s been nearly an hour and a half, your mother is expecting you for dinner.”

Lance’s eyes flitted back and forth between Keith and the knight currently smothering him in his arms. He wasn’t at all sure what was happening here, or why a knight would be so worried about about some child lost in the forest. His brother perhaps? But Keith hadn’t mentioned him…. Keith finally broke free of the hug, pushing off of the knight’s plate armor and whirled back around to face Lance.

The knight, Shiro, apparently, turned to him as well, sizing him up in a way that sent shivers shooting up Lance’s spine. He was a rather intimidating character, especially to such a young boy, as the armored knight towered over him with a deadly weapon at his disposal, a fact Lance wasn’t ignorant to. But Shiro was, at his core, a kind soul, and had never been one with intent to instill fear in child. He gave Lance a gentle smile and put a large hand on the boy’s shoulder, “I am terribly sorry if my ward has inconvenienced you in any way. He’s rather stubborn and ornery,” Keith made a noise of protest that Shiro met with a laugh, “I’d like to thank you for spending time with the prince. He likely would have found trouble without someone to talk to. I think he seeks it out.”

Lance’s jaw went slack and his eyes went wide as he started at Keith. The violet eyed boy looked almost sheepish, as though he’d just forgotten such an important detail about his own life, “Prince?!”

The knight looked back at the apparent prince with soft sigh, giving Lance’s back a supportive pat as he met Keith’s eye, “Your highness, you really must stop surprising people so. If one were to die from the shock, I’d feel awfully sorry for them,” Keith worried his bottom lip between his teeth, looking down at his feet as though he were ashamed. He’d wanted to tell Lance, truly! But he knew once he told him, his new friend would not be as willing to hold a normal conversation with him, and a normal conversation was something the prince was desperate to have nowadays.

Shiro was sympathetic to that; he knew he couldn’t be Keith’s only confidant, it just wasn’t fair to the young man to not have children his own age to play with. He would love nothing more than to allow Keith a moment to himself, but, first and foremost, Shiro had a duty to keep him safe, and Keith running off on his own was hindrance to that, “Well, then. It’s time for us to go, Keith. Your mother is probably worried sick about you by now. Say goodbye to your friend, we have to get back to the castle.”

“Goodbye, Lance, let’s play again sometime, okay?” Keith said solemnly, allowing Shiro to lift him onto the saddle of his horse, the knight settling in behind him and taking hold of the reins, “maybe next time we meet you’ll really be the best archer in the kingdom.”

That strange boy- no, the prince- waved at him as his knight eased his stead into a steady trot, disappearing behind the thicket and out of Lance’s view. He stood there for a moment in utter disbelief, his jaw slack and his eyes wide. He’d just met the prince of his kingdom. He’d talked to him like he would any of the village children. He told him to disobey his parents, as in, the king and queen.

His body suddenly regained its movement as he began to sprint back home, his feet thudding heavily along the familiar trail. He had to tell him mother and father! They would never believe him!

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to update in the next week or so. I have a huge project due for one of my courses that I have to work on, but after that the semester ends and I'm back in business until January.


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